The Japanese video game giant launched its latest console, the Nintendo Switch, in March 2017. It's the company's first new console since 2012's Wii U — primarily known as the worst-selling console in Nintendo history.

With the Switch, Nintendo has a hit on its hands — and for good reason. It's an excellent little console that stands out from the competition with its portability and excellent game library.

One year later, we're revisiting our original review of the Switch to see how far Nintendo has come...and the places it still needs to go.

1/

A quick overview: The Nintendo Switch is a $300 video game console that launched on Friday, March 3, 2017.

When you play the Nintendo Switch at home on a television, you "dock" the system in what sort of looks like a plastic toaster.
Nintendo

The console is a hybrid home console and portable console. The games you play at home are the same when you take them on the go — that's the whole sell point of the console: "Play games everywhere."

In this sense, the Switch "console" is just a tablet that can be docked and played on your TV, or taken to play on the go.

2/

This is the Nintendo Switch, the 6.2-inch tablet in the middle. The controllers on either side are modular; they can be slid onto the tablet, thus turning it into a handheld game system.

Nintendo

A kickstand on the back of the tablet enables you to balance it like a tiny display for multiplayer gaming. If you're attempting as much, you must be very close to the screen. It's small!

3/

The Switch's main gimmick — being a home console and a handheld — holds up remarkably well.

Forgive the graphic example, but this is from Nintendo's own advertisement. Also, let's be real: This is how many people use the Nintendo Switch as a portable console.
Nintendo

What we said in 2017: Switching between TV mode and handheld mode on the Switch works exactly as advertised — it's simple, intuitive, and brilliant.

The Switch seamlessly moves between home console and portable console. You simply slide the tablet into the dock, and it's on your TV. Pick it up and it's ready to go. That's it!

Being able to pause a game on my TV, snag the Switch out of the Dock, and keep playing is a convenience I didn't think I needed. Turns out it's a tremendously nice bonus. I've been playing "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" on my morning commute, picking up where I left off on my TV the night before, and it's a real delight.

Also, if we're being honest, being able to bring the Switch to the bathroom is something that millions of people are going to embrace. Kinda gross? Maybe. Logical? Certainly.

And now, in 2018? Though I'm far less likely these days to pick up my Switch and take it on-the-go, it's a delightful convenience when traveling.

I brought the Switch with me during my holiday travel, and enjoyed the ability to play "Super Mario Odyssey" as we traveled from place to place. The Switch came with me last year to Peru as well. It's genuinely amazing being able to bring a full-on game console wherever you go. That the power cable/plug is relatively slim also helps!

4/

The Switch is still the snappiest, most modern-feeling game console of the big three.

This is the Nintendo Switch in its dock, connected to a TV. The dock comes with the console.
Nintendo

What we said in 2017: In a world where everyone has a supercomputer with a high-definition touchscreen in his or her pocket, the Nintendo Switch feels modern. It's fast, pretty, and well built. Despite Nintendo's occasional missteps with hardware, the Switch is a strong step forward into modernity.

The Switch itself — the tablet — has a bright, vibrant touchscreen. A rail along each side makes it easy for the gamepads to slide in, and detaching them is just as simple (with a small button on each).

Using the console's operating system is just as simple, quick, and intuitive. It uses a basic tile system for games — all your games are right in front of you, in large colorful tiles. Jumping into your photo album of screenshots from games, for instance, is incredibly quick, as is jumping back out.

Most impressive, the console turns on and shuts off as fast as an iPad or a MacBook. This might sound like a no-brainer, but it's a revelation compared with the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. It's a tremendous delight being able to turn on the Switch and jump into a game in under 20 seconds. The console turns on faster than my TV can.

And now, in 2018? Though I've since updated my TV with a newer model that turns on pretty quickly, the Switch is still the fastest piece of electronics to start up in my home entertainment system. Nintendo hasn't made many major updates to the console's software since last year, which means that it's still relatively light on features and also that it's still quite fast.

Nintendo did add the ability to record short clips of gameplay. Plus, there's now a Hulu app for the Switch, bringing streaming TV to the console. Otherwise, there's still not much to do on the Switch other than gaming, but the games it has are best in class.

5/

The Nintendo Switch gamepad is still the worst gamepad on the market.

You can disconnect two sides of the game pad and hold them as two distinct controllers (operating as one), or you can slide them into the device seen above.
Nintendo

What we said in 2017: The one misstep, from a hardware perspective, is the mediocre game pad included with the Switch.

To speak about the Nintendo Switch's "game pad" is a misnomer. There are really two game pads, called Joy-Con. The Joy-Con are actually excellent. They are well-built, responsive, and easy to use. I spent most of the time using them distinctly, disconnected from the game-pad-style shell that Nintendo includes with the Switch. I recommend you do the same.

As seen above, though, there is a more standard game pad as well. The idea is that you slide each of the two Joy-Con game pads into a holder, called the Joy-Con Grip, and it becomes a more traditional game pad. Does anything about that game pad above look "traditional" to you? To me, it looks like a square with buttons on it and two little handles on each side. As it turns out, it feels that way, too. It's uncomfortable to use and slippery to hold, and it can't even charge the Joy-Cons.

It's not an outright bad game pad when the Joy-Cons are attached to the Grip, but it's far from good. Do yourself a favor and keep the Joy-Con detached, or shell out $70 for a Pro controller (a genuinely traditional-style game pad, along the lines of the PlayStation 4 controller).

And now, in 2018? If I'm playing Switch at home, I'm using that $70 Pro controller. I never disconnect the included Joy-Con unless absolutely necessary. Though much of the experience using the Switch hardware is positive, the Joy-Con controllers continue to be too small, too easy to drop, and inefficient at controlling games. Even when they're snapped into the Joy-Con Grip (above), the controller they become isn't anywhere near as good as the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One gamepads.

Thankfully, Nintendo makes that Pro controller, which is a much more standard, comfortable way to play games — just know that it's sold separately. I strongly suggest picking one up at the same time you snatch up your Switch.

6/

The Nintendo Switch game library is pretty great at this point.

Nintendo

What we said in 2017: The Switch's big launch game is "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."

So, is it any good? Good news: It's fantastic. I play a lot of games — it's my job, even! — and "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is one of the best games I've played in years. It's hard to be too hyperbolic about what a tremendous game "Breath of the Wild" is.

And now, in 2018? "Breath of the Wild" continues to be one of the best games in years, and there are now two major expansions available, adding lots of new gameplay.

More importantly, there are several other excellent games available on the Switch — from "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" to "Splatoon 2" to "Super Mario Odyssey." That's before we start talking about the plethora of excellent indie games like "Celeste," or major third-party games like "Minecraft" and "Doom."

The biggest question for the Nintendo Switch at launch was whether it would have enough games to entice people to buy it. A year later, the answer is clearly yes.

7/

The Switch platform has grown tremendously in the past year.

Super Mario stays stacking coin.
Nintendo

What we said in 2017: Now, the one massive caveat: There are very few things to do on the Nintendo Switch right now.

Nintendo's new console may be fast, and it may be decently priced at just $300, and it may have a new, massive, excellent Zelda game as a launch title, but it has some tremendous limitations.

The gorgeous "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is the only marquee launch title on the Switch. It's the only major game launching with the console on Friday, the only game you'll "need" to play for many months. No equivocations, no caveats — the games lineup for the Switch is remarkably light.

Things improve as the year goes on:

-An updated "Mario Kart 8" arrives in April. -A new "Splatoon" game is planned for the summer. -A new, 3D "Super Mario" game is planned for "holiday 2017."

That's pretty much it (at least so far).

And now, in 2018? Nintendo went above and beyond in its first year, steadily delivering one major game after another. The game library on the Switch is now full of bangers, from "Super Mario Odyssey" to "Stardew Valley." It's become the go-to question when a new game is announced: Is it coming to Switch?

Beyond the console just being a pleasure to use, it's really nice being able to bring games anywhere you go. As a result, the demand for multi-platform games on Switch is higher than you might expect for a console that's just one year into its life. "Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus," for example is expected to come to Switch some time in the next few months, not terribly long after it was released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

All that said: There's much, much more to play on the Switch than there was back in March 2017. That's to be expected of course — only so many games arrive at a console's launch. But that the library has grown so quickly, and already offers so many massive franchises from Nintendo's library, is a testament to Nintendo's strategic planning. In 2017, it felt like there were huge games coming to the Switch all the time, which certainly helped push the console's sales numbers.

8/

The Switch is still missing some major functionality.

Here's hoping this guy is interested in playing games for his entire flight, because the Switch doesn't do anything else.
Nintendo

What we said in 2017: The Switch is a gaming console and nothing else. It won't play Netflix, or stream Spotify, or even play Blu-ray discs.

This is a console aimed at folks who already have those problems solved and simply want a means to play Nintendo's biggest games. At least that seems to be the case thus far — Nintendo says it has no plans to bring any of that stuff to the Switch. Moreover, ahead of launch, the console doesn't even have a digital storefront (Nintendo's "eShop"). I've been able to play games on the Switch and do nothing else. To that end, it's very capable and very limited.

And now, in 2018? Little has changed on this front. The Switch remains, first and foremost, a game console. You can use Hulu on it now, but still not Netflix or YouTube or any other major video streaming service.

There's also no formal online service — it's scheduled to launch in September — and still no Virtual Console marketplace for buying classic Nintendo games (as previous Nintendo consoles had). There's still no web browser or media viewer, either. The Switch is a game console; if you're looking for more than that, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are beyond capable.

9/

The Switch has become a must-buy console for anyone interested in games.

Nintendo

What we said in 2017: Between the extremely slim lineup of games at launch and the lack of any other functionality, it's hard to suggest buying the Nintendo Switch at launch.

No major third-party games — like the new "Mass Effect," for instance — are heading to the Switch. The console itself doesn't do anything that other, less expensive game consoles can't do. The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 cost less, are more powerful, and have massive libraries of excellent games. Aside from the Switch's main gimmick — turning into a portable console — and Nintendo's first-party game lineup, there's no standout sell point for the Switch.

It is, in essence, a very expensive "Legend of Zelda" machine.

That may be enough to sell the most hardcore "Legend of Zelda" fans, but it's far from mainstream appeal. The question quickly becomes, "Do I want to pay nearly $400 to play a single game?"

The answer for me — and many others I'd bet — is no, no I do not.

And now, in 2018? I would unequivocally suggest the Nintendo Switch to anyone interested in playing great video games. It's a delightful console with a killer library, and a strong-looking future ahead. If Nintendo stopped making games for the Switch today, the library would already have some of the best games made in the last decade in "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and "Super Mario Odyssey" — they're modern classics that will influence game design across the game industry for years to come.

There are great games for kids on the console, and there are great games for adults. There are great games to play alone on the Switch, and great games to play with friends (both in person and online). The Nintendo Switch is a demonstration of Nintendo at its best.

10/

Nintendo went from 0 to almost 15 million Switch consoles sold in one year. The Switch is officially a major success, and the future looks even brighter.

Nintendo

What we said in 2017: By holiday 2017, there will be many more reasons to buy a Switch. Consider waiting!

This feels like a "soft launch" for the Nintendo Switch, in which early adopters and the most dedicated Nintendo loyalists are being catered to but the mainstream consumer should still wait and see what happens.

The new "Legend of Zelda" game is enough to satiate longtime fans, but it's a tremendously difficult game that could turn off more casual gamers. The lack of stuff like Nintendo's long-running Virtual Console, a service full of Nintendo's most popular classic games, speaks to that "soft launch" — there isn't even a paid online service on the Switch yet (it's planned for launch in "fall 2017").

If you're a huge "Zelda" fan who has been playing Nintendo games your whole life, the Switch is worth buying right now. For everyone else, wait six months — by then, you'll have a new "Mario Kart" game, a digital storefront for buying games, and maybe even a price drop.

And now, in 2018? Alas, there has been no price drop for the Switch. With great success comes great demand — and little reason for Nintendo drop the price while people are buying it as is. But if you waited six months to see where the Switch ended up, you were in for a treat: By September 2017, a handful of great games were already out and "Super Mario Odyssey" was just over the horizon.

At this point, it's clear that calling the Switch launch a "soft" launch was a misnomer: "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" was a blockbuster hit, and deservedly so as it's an excellent game. The console was little more than a "Zelda" machine early on, but with such a great game that was apparently enough to get the ball rolling.

There are still some things missing from the console, like the aforementioned online service and Virtual Console (which may never come — Nintendo has never indicated that it will). But if you're wondering at this point whether to buy a Nintendo Switch, the answer is a resounding yes.